The active human retrotransposon L1 is the most prevalent human retroelement, constituting 17% of the mass of the human genome and contributing significantly to mutagenesis. L1 mutagenizes human genomes in a number of ways including insertional...

Polyethylene oxide polymers are intrinsic to oil spill dispersants used in Macondo well blowout of 2010. We believe that effective thermo-physical modeling of these materials should assist the application of lab-scale results into ocean-scales....

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. Over the course of its life cycle in vivo, Mtb is exposed to a plethora of environmental stress conditions. Temporal...

Based on ethnographic field research conducted in the summer of 2014, this thesis explores how Bolivian migrants garner rights and recognition in São Paulo, Brazil. By performing a Bolivian ethnonational identity in São Paulo public space, migrants...

Background: Fungal infections such as Candida in pediatric patients are associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased costs, yet it is not definitively known if particular Candida species are associated with worse clinical outcomes than...

To understand loosening of halo pins at the skull bone interface, a finite element analysis of pin insertion and loosening potential was performed. Phase I included construction and validation of an axisymmetric model of halo pin insertion into...

Research using the adult mammalian model shows that regeneration in the limb is limited to the distal most portion of the terminal phalanx. Recent studies suggest that the cellular contributions made to the regenerating system are lineage...

Although the evolutionary implications of natural differences in flow regime have been well-studied, the evolutionary implications of anthropogenic modification of flow regime are not well understood. To begin to characterize the evolutionary...

This diachronic study tracks Louisiana French syllable structure and sound patterns over several decades, offering an in-depth, quantitative evaluation of language death and hybridization. Most scholarly inquiry involving this severely endangered...

The objective of this project is to develop novel treatments, using expression-targeted gene therapy and minicell technology, to replace current methodologies used in the clinic for the treatment of carcinomas, especially transitional cell...

The LINE-1 mobile element is an abundant endogenous human mutagen, which occupies 17% of the genome. The impact of the LINE-1 or L1 element on the genome is likely continually increasing as it mobilizes itself by creating and inserting a new copy...

The human genome contains nearly 1.1 million Alu elements (11% of its total DNA content). Alu elements use a copy and paste retrotransposition mechanism that can result in de novo disease insertion alleles. However, the majority of these copies are...